Break Down The Walls
by clarksonwriter17
Summary: Graduation. Austin and Ally deal with the fact that Austin is going to Berklee while Ally goes to Eastman. Established Auslly. Part One of the Eastman Series.


**A/N: Hey guys! So I based this off of my own graduation and if I'm being honest, House of Anubis's The Touchstone of Ra. But anyways, my friend Lia, (Smiley612). Is publishing her first Austin and Ally story titled, How Not To Propose so if you guys could go read and review it because I want her to keep writing for this fandom I would appreciate it!**

* * *

She sits at the piano, her graduation cap sitting on top of it, her hands fiddling with the keys.

She starts to play the tune that started the friendship with two of her three best friends slowly and she smiles gently to herself. She plays the whole song slower than Austin usually sings it and when she gets to the last line of the song, she sings.

"You've gotta break. Break. Break. Break down the walls." She sung slowly and quietly. She held out the last chord and when it finally faded away, there was applause from the doorway. She turned to see Austin in his yellow cap and gown, his bright blonde hair peeking out from underneath and a smile just as bright as his hair on his face.

"That was gorgeous Ally." She blushed and looked down at the keys.

"Thanks." She murmured. Austin walked into the practice room and Ally moved over on the piano bench so he could sit down as well.

"Why are you up here? You're mom and dad are looking for you at your house." He said, turning his head to look at her concernedly.

"I just needed to get away for a little bit. I was getting a little overwhelmed with everything and my feet led me here." Austin nodded and ran his fingers lightly over the keys.

"I understand what you mean. My mom can't stop crying long enough to form a coherent sentence." He said. She lifted her head to look at him and saw that his eyes were red-rimmed and that he had dried tear tracks on his face.

"And apparently neither could you." She reached up and set her right hand gently on his cheek, rubbing her thumb softly against it.

He sighed before grabbing Ally's left hand and braiding their fingers together.

"I'm gonna miss this place." He admitted, his eyes taking in the practice room.

"Me too." Ally agreed, her eyes also glancing around the room.

"We're going to college soon Austin." She turned towards him, her doe brown eyes filled with fear and apprehension.

"I'm going to college almost 1500 miles away Austin and it just, it scares me because I've never even left Miami Beach, let alone _the state_." She confessed, looking down at their interlinked hands.

"But that's the point Ally. College is to experience new things. _To discover yourself." _She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"But what if I don't want to do it by myself?" She whispered. "Austin you're going to Berklee and I'm going to Eastman and what are we gonna do?" Austin pulled her into his arms and held her tightly as she began to cry.

"Ally." He soothed, rocking back and forth. "Everything's gonna be just fine baby I promise." He kissed her temple, trying hard not to knock off either of their caps, and set his head on top of hers.

When they finally pulled apart, Austin wiped away Ally's tears with the pads of his calloused thumbs and held her face.

He kissed her forehead _(well, almost)_ and looked down at her. His eyes flicked to the clock behind her and he sighed.

"It's four thirty. We should probably head out." Ally sighed as well.

"Alright." They both stood up and Austin grabbed Ally's hand as they walked out of the practice room.

Her teal gown caught on the staircase as they were going down the stairs and Ally stopped. She unhooked it from the nail that was coming out and they continued down the stairs and out of the doors of Sonic Boom.

They walked towards Ally's house, Austin's thumb rubbing soothing circles onto the back of Ally's hand.

They walked in a content silence and when they turned the corner to walk down Ally's road, Penny ran down the sidewalk to meet them.

"Oh Ally!" She exclaimed, pulling her into a hug, Ally's hand still interlocked with Austin's.

"Your father and I were so worried about you!" She said as she pulled back. "We have to get going soon. Austin sweetie, we'll wait for your parents to get here then we'll all-"

"Actually Ms. Dawson, my parents decided to head to graduation early. Mom wanted a good seat."

"Okay then let's go. You have your speech Ally?" Ally nodded.

"Okay then!" Penny started towards the waiting car and then turned around to look at the both of you.

"You two look so grown up now." She said, walking up to the both of them and putting a hand on Ally's cheek and Austin's shoulder.

Ally smiled softly.

"Thanks mom." Penny sniffled and they began their walk to the car once more.

Penny climbed in the front seat while Austin and Ally climbed in the back, never letting go of each other's hands.

The car ride to the school was held in silence, Austin glancing over at Ally every now and then.

Austin's leg kept on bouncing up and down and he had to fight the smile he felt creeping up on him every now and then.

"Sweetie." Penny started and Ally picked up her head. "Are you all packed to leave next week?" Ally swallowed thickly and her eyes filled up with tears.

"Yeah mom." She said, her voice breaking. Austin frowned and wanted to pull her into a hug and tell her his secret that would be revealed in two hours.

Instead he squeezed her hand and she turned her tear filled eyes to meet his and squeezed his hand back.

When they arrived at graduation, Austin and Ally walked towards the gym and they stood near the gym doors.

Austin held Ally's face in his hands, just looking down at her. He saw a tear start to escape her eye and he wiped it away. He saw a flash from the corner of his eye and his eyes flashed with anger.

"I swear if there are paparazzi in here-" He started, his anger growing.

A woman even shorter than Ally walked up to them with her hand held out ready for a handshake.

"My name's Elsie Bailey. I'm a journalist for the Miami Tribune." Ally shook her hand first and Austin hesitantly followed suit.

"I saw you two over here and you looked so adorable so I just had to take your picture." She clicked some buttons on her camera and looked up at them.

"Can I have both of your names so I can put this in the paper?" Austin and Ally looked hesitantly at each other before nodding.

"My name's Ally Dawson. This is my boyfriend Austin Moon." Ally said, gesturing towards Austin.

"And do you spell Ally with one l or two?"

"Two." Elsie nodded and smiled up at them. "Thank you so much you two. And congratulations."

"Thanks." They said simultaneously and Elsie walked away.

"I wonder where Dez and Trish are?" Ally asked, standing on her tiptoes to scan through the soon-to-be graduates of Marino High School.

"I don't-"

"Attention graduates." The superintendent's voice rang out across the gym. "I would like you all to start lining up now." Everyone began to file towards the door, Austin and Ally heading towards a corner.

"Austin," she started. Austin pulled off his cap and leaned down and captured her lips with his. Ally stood on her tiptoes so Austin didn't have as far to lean down and when they pulled away Austin gently grabbed her hand once more.

"I love you Ally." Ally smiled up at him and her stomach fluttered. She still couldn't believe that after a year of saying they loved each other, she still reacted like the first time he had said it.

"I love you too." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and led her to the doors where people were still filing out.

"We should probably get going. They're probably wondering where the valedictorian is." Ally giggled.

"Bye." She said, letting go of his hand to weave through the crowd to the front of the line.

When she finally reached the front of the line, the salutatorian, Sara Orchard, stood there.

"You ready?" Sara questioned. Ally nodded.

"As I'll ever be." They stood there for about twenty more minutes while everyone else lined up and then finally the superintendent and principal appeared.

"You girls ready?" The superintendent asked. Ally and Sara nodded. "Okay then!" He lifted his head up and cupped his mouth.

"Here we go everybody!" Everyone whooped and hollered and finally they began their descent outside. The band played Pomp and Circumstance and Ally smiled proudly as people began to smile in her direction.

She and Sara stood in front of the first two seats and watched as everyone else walked up the aisle.

They said the pledge of allegiance for the last time before they all sat down. The superintendent said a few words and once he finished Ally took it as her cue to stand up.

Austin, Trish and Dez hoot and hollered as Ally walked up to the podium and her cheeks flushed red.

When the applause finally died down, Ally adjusted the microphone so it was in front of her mouth and took a deep breath.

"When first starting high school, I was an introvert with terrible stage fright, a small group of friends and a, what I now realize to be, closed mind.

"It was a few weeks after beginning high school that the event that I think changed me to the person I am today happened." Ally paused.

"And that was meeting Austin Moon and Dez Parado."

Dez smiled and Austin looked as if someone had just set a stack of his favorite pancakes in front of him.

"Now I won't go into detail about how Austin stole my song and I became his songwriter because I'm pretty sure you all know what came from there." The crowd chuckled and Ally smiled.

"But it was from there that I've realized you have to conquer your fears. Or else they can hold you back from a whole world that you've never even experienced." Ally paused again and Dez, Trish and Austin smiled at her.

"So members of the Class of 2015 I urge you to pursue any of your dreams, no matter what stands in your way. And to always remember to stay true to who you are in the process." Ally smiled once more and walked away from the platform.

The crowd applauded and Ally sat in her chair next to the podium.

She zoned out as the superintendent began a short speech and she turned around to see Austin behind her.

He gave her a big thumbs up and a smile and Ally gave him a relieved smile.

She turned back towards the superintendent just as he was motioning for her to rise and Ally led the line of students behind the school's bleachers as they were instructed early that day.

She stood across the lawn and took a deep breath right before the superintendent said her name.

"Allison Marie Dawson." Ally took her first step forward and everyone began to applaud. Ally blushed and she heard Austin whistle for her from his seat.

"Allison will be attending the Eastman School of Music starting in a week and will be majoring in Composition." The crowd applauded one more time and Ally felt Austin lightly pinch her back as she walked by him.

She waited until she heard Lilianna Dare's name called and then she poked her head above the bleachers.

"Patricia de la Rosa." Trish smiled and strutted her way across the lawn.

"Patricia will be attending Jacksonville University in the fall and will be majoring in Music Management." Ally whooped for her and Trish smiled proudly at the crowd before walking behind the bleachers and running up to Ally and giving her a big hug.

They impatiently waited for the rest of their row to walk across before Ally led them across once more and they sat in their seats as the second row rose.

Austin lightly pulled on a lock of her hair and she smiled as Austin led his row around the bleachers.

She turned her head to watch him as he stood across the lawn, eagerly waiting for the superintendent to call his name.

"Austin Monica Moon." The crowd snickered at his middle name and Ally would've, but she was too busy trying to avoid listening to the superintendent announcing that Austin would be attending the Berklee School of Music. In Boston. Away from her. She shook her head.

"Austin will be attending the Eastman School of Music starting in a week and will be majoring in Applied Music and Music Education." Ally took in a sharp gasp of air right as Austin walked by her and he smiled brightly at her.

She felt her eyes fill with tears and her hands flew to her mouth. Sara looked over at her with concern.

"Ally?" She whispered. "Ally?" She set her hand on Ally's leg. "Ally are you alright?"

Ally shook her head.

"N-N-No." She softly sobbed out. Sara turned her body towards Ally.

"Ally what's wrong?"

"He-he-he wasn't supposed to-" She stopped and buried her head in her hands, occasionally lifting it to wipe away her tears.

Austin watched her concernedly from behind the bleachers and Trish looked down their row to look at her.

She missed Dez walking across, but Dez kept glancing concernedly over at her as he went up to get his diploma.

Finally the second row was done and Austin led the second row back to their spots, concernedly rubbing Ally's shoulders.

She took a deep breath and set her left hand on top of his, holding it to her shoulder.

She turned to look at him and he smiled.

"Surprise." He mouthed. Ally let out a soft sob and Sara smiled over at her. She wiped away more tears and turned around, feeling Austin draw circles into her back. She took a few more deep breaths before finally calming down and she slumped back against her seat.

She zoned out as the last row of students walked past her one by one.

"Will the members of the Class of 2015 all stand." Everyone rose and turned towards the superintendent.

"I would like you all to move your tassels from the right to the left." Everyone moved their tassel.

"I'm proud to present to you the Class of 2015!" Everyone threw up their caps and as caps flew in the air, Ally turned around to face Austin who leaned down to kiss her.

All of a sudden silly string flew around them and they pulled back laughing. Almost all of the 200 seniors at their school were spraying silly string all around them and Austin and Ally turned back towards each other.

They leaned in for one more kiss and pulled away right as everyone started to walk off the bleachers.

Austin grabbed Ally's hand and held it above all the chairs they had all been sitting in and they walked towards Dez and Trish who stood off to the side.

They had a big group hug and Austin could hear the shuttering of cameras around them. When they pulled back, Austin, Ally and Trish's parents along with Dez's grandma all stood around them.

All the adults started bombarding them with hugs and they all waited as every adult took a turn hugging them. Austin and Ally kept glancing over whoever they were hugging shoulders to look at each other.

After an hour of celebrating, they all headed home to change so they could meet up at Austin's.

"I'll see you guys at 9:30!" He yelled to Dez and Trish. They nodded and waved before climbing in their respective cars.

"And I will see you at 9:00." Austin said before kissing Ally once more before climbing into the backseat of his parents car.

Ally took off her cap and played with the tassel for about five minutes when her mom finally spoke up.

"I thought Austin was going to Berklee in the fall?" Ally slowly nodded.

"Yeah, so didn't I." Penny's eyes widened.

"You mean to tell me that you didn't know about this?"

"No." Ally said, her tone becoming guarded. "Did you not notice me sobbing because my boyfriend neglected to tell me that he was going to the same college as me and was also going a semester early just like I am?" Penny fell silent and Ally huffed before turning out the window.

"I'm sorry mom." Ally apologized. "I didn't mean that it's just I can't believe he kept this a secret from me all this time."

Penny frowned.

"I'm sure there was a good reason he kept it from you sweetheart." Lester interjected. Ally nodded.

"He better." She mumbled underneath her breath.

* * *

She knocked on his front door and Mimi answered it with a smile.

"He's in the basement sweetie." Ally nodded.

"Thanks Mrs. Moon." Ally walked towards the basement door and headed down the stairs. She heard the chords to Steal Your Heart from downstairs.

"I confess, I kinda like it that you're innocent. Keeping up your guard." Ally smiled from the stairs.

"Trying to serenade me with my song isn't going to soften me up just a warning." Austin screamed and his guitar almost flew from his hands.

"Ally." He sighed, holding his hand to his heart. "You just scared the crap out of me." Ally gave him a slight smile before forcing a frown back on her face.

She walked over to the couch and sat down on the opposite side.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to Eastman?" She quietly asked, looking down at her feet.

Austin sighed and tucked a finger underneath her chin.

"I didn't tell you because I was waitlisted until last week, when they finally accepted me." Ally smiled tearfully.

"I thought you didn't even apply." She said, wiping away a tear and scooting closer.

"Well of course I applied Ally. I wasn't going to give up on you that easily." Ally smiled and hugged him. Austin wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I just didn't have the heart to tell you they didn't accept me because I thought it would change your mind about going there and I knew how much you wanted to go there." Ally pulled back and captured his lips with hers.

He melted into the kiss and pulled Ally even closer to him. When they pulled apart Ally hugged him once more.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Dez and Trish walked down the stairs at that moment and Dez pulled a movie out of his backpack.

"Who's ready to watch Zaliens 9!"

* * *

She sat in the passenger seat and turned towards him smiling at him wearing his sunglasses.

"What is it Ally?" He asked, quickly turning his eyes towards her.

"Nothing." She grabbed his hand. "I just can't believe we're on our way to college right now." She leaned back against the seat and turned her head towards the window.

"Same here. The plus side is at least our dorms are only a floor apart." Ally smiled.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how my dad feels about that but yeah." Austin chuckled and brought up Ally's hand to kiss her knuckles.

"You excited?" He asked, letting their hands drop back to the middle.

"A little nervous, but yeah. What about you?"

"Freaking ecstatic. I'm going to college with my girlfriend. Who wouldn't be excited?" Ally smiled and leaned across to kiss his cheek.

"I'm thinking about recording Break Down The Walls again." Austin blurted out. Ally turned towards him.

"Maybe making it an acoustic duet." He turned his head towards her. "What do you say?" Ally nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course!" Austin smiled.

"Good!" They crossed over the New York State line and Austin looked at Ally.

"You ready to break down some new walls?" Ally nodded and squeezed his hand.

"Oh definitely."


End file.
